UK lawmakers use e-mail in plot to topple Brown

Britain's media is reporting that rebel lawmakers are circulating an e-mail in a plot to topple Prime Minister Gordon Brown amid resignations from his government and public anger over an expenses scandal.

Britain's media is reporting that rebel lawmakers are circulating an e-mail in a plot to topple Prime Minister Gordon Brown amid resignations from his government and public anger over an expenses scandal.

The Guardian newspaper and other outlets say that dissident legislators in Brown's Labour Party claim as many as 70 lawmakers will support a statement calling on Brown to quit. The e-mail is not signed and comes from a generic account impossible to trace.

The e-mail tells Brown, "you can best serve the Labour Party and the country by stepping down."

Poor results in European and town hall elections on Thursday are likely to increase pressure on Brown.